REGINA — Regina is approaching a turning point as it confronts financial pressures and aging infrastructure, Mayor Chad Bachynski said during his state of the city address Thursday.
During the 58th annual State of the City address, Bachynski acknowledged the position Regina currently finds itself in.
“It’s an acknowledgement of our finances, an acknowledgement of our infrastructure, but acknowledging that we see a clear path for it.”
Bachynski has repeatedly stated that artificially low mill rates passed by previous councils before his election caused an infrastructure deficit and depleted reserves. Despite these claims, he isn’t pointing fingers at one specific individual.
“It's not a blame game. It's an acknowledgement to say this is why we're here, and what are we going to do going forward?”
Trying to balance affordability with residents’ needs has been like walking a tightrope, Bachynski noted.
"When we face such a challenging financial situation, I think that's where we land, is that every — I mean, we were debating down to the, not just hundreds of thousands of dollars, but to the tens of thousands of dollars at times during the budget cycle.”
Council has recently witnessed the repercussions of budget decisions, including cutting coin-payment options at parking meters, causing accessibility issues for people roaming downtown, and prioritizing wastewater capacity in long-term debt projects, leaving the future of the Central Library Renewal Project in limbo.
In the case of the parking meters, Bachynski admitted both council and city administration missed the mark. However, he credited city staff for formalizing a plan on short notice.
“The fact that I was able to have us get together, talk out a solution, and basically, within 48 hours, come up with a plan, I think speaks volumes.”
He also said there are lessons to be learned when negative consequences from decisions made during the budget process return to council.
“We had a lot of lessons learned from the budget process itself, and those are gonna be taken back and adjusted. There's a lot of, I would say, fear and anxiety when the big list of potential cuts came out. I think we can do a better job of communicating that,” said Bachynski on listening to the community.
When Bachynski walks on stage for next year’s State of the City address, he hopes Regina is in a more predictable and sustainable position.
Bachynski also wants to fast-track projects currently in development so he can talk about "some of those wins" next year.
